A Thousand Miles
by BleachBox Romance
Summary: Sequel to Forgiveness After a traumatic experience, Ichigo must learn how to protect Rukia and their child while trying to cope with the presence of his hollow. IchigoxRukia. -IN PROCESS OF BEING REVAMPED-
1. No Longer Protect

**Here's the long awaited sequel to _Forgiveness_! Yes, there was another one that I removed, but I've had this one saved in my computer for so long, and I just recently found it half-finished, so I thought I would clean it up and make it the start of my real sequel. Anyways, I don't own Bleach. Or Ichigo and Renji (even though I want to), or any other characters in the series.**

**If you haven't read _Forgiveness_, then I'll give you all the 411: Following a near-death experience, Ichigo confesses his love to Rukia. Latter on, around chapter 4, Rukia becomes pregnant. They have a son named Takeshi, and that's where the story ends. This story picks up three months later.**

**Reviews aren't mandatory, but they are appreciated!**

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A light breeze picked up, a few dried leaves floating onto the deathly quiet path in front of him. With his head bowed in remorse, Ichigo made his way down the deserted path, his empty brown eyes not bothering to look ahead. His face showed no expression, his eyes showed no life, the only thing that proved he was still alive was the fact that he was walking. His feet skidded and dragged in the dirt, but he never broke his stride.

What would be perceived as a normal routine hollow hunt was really nothing of the sort. There was no inevitable threat that was foretold in an order from the Soul Society, just the quiet silence that surrounded the shinigami. Where he was headed, no one could really tell, not even him. He walked forward without a said purpose, without any visible motivation, such as a friend in danger or an arrancar attack.

Ichigo just needed to get away. To get as far away from the people he loved as possible. To get away from his home, from everything he has ever known. It would be safer that way, he had convinced himself before leaving. His son, Takeshi, his friends, Rukia, they would all be safer if he just let go and never returned. He would never be able to hurt them that way.

How could he have let this happen? He was supposed to be in control of the demon that lurked within his soul, the monster that reminded him that there was something that could, and almost had, destroyed everyone he had loved. A sharp twang of guilt shot through his heart as he remembered what had happened.

"_Ichigo! Stop!" Renji firmly stood in front of Rukia and growled at the said shinigami, his sword pointed outwards. His anxiousness rose as Ichigo stalked towards him, half of a hollow mask covering his face. His piercing yellow eyes bored holes through Renji, and he crept closer, a laugh building in his throat._

"_C'mon, kid. If ya get outta my way, I won't 'ave to kill ya just yet." Hollow Ichigo snickered, his sword outstretched, as if he were challenging Renji to a duel. "This ain't Ichigo ya talkin' to anymore, so don't even bother."_

"_You're not using Ichigo to hurt his wife and son. If you take one more step, I will not hesitate to kill you." Renji snarled, his voice threatening._

_Hollow Ichigo erupted into another fit of laughter. "I ain't buyin' your bluff, kid. If ya kill me, you're killin' Ichigo too. You wouldn't do that, not in front of little Rukia an' their kid." He looked at Rukia, his eyes narrowed, the sick smile still plastered on his face._

"_You're not going near any one of them!" Renji swung his sword, the blade barely missing it's target. He jumped back from the counter attack and pulled Zabimaru up in a defensive position. "Ichigo! Snap out of it! Don't let this thing destroy your family!"_

_Something strange flashed across Hollow Ichigo's eyes, and for a brief moment, turned from yellow to brown. He gripped his head, a low growl drifting out of his throat. "Damn it, Ichigo! Stay outta this!" A scream erupted from his mouth, sounding as if he and Ichigo were screaming in unison._

_A new, familiar voice came out, strained and raspy. "You…damn…hollow." Ichigo's fingers clawed at the mask, and finally hooked under it's raw edges. "Leave…my…family…alone!" With a bloodcurdling scream, he ripped the mask off of his face. Ichigo stumbled backwards, clutching his face. When he opened his eyes, they went from Renji to Rukia._

"_I-I…wha-" He stuttered, not believing how he had almost killed his family. "R-Rukia, I-I'm." A wave of nausea hit him, and he felt bile rising in his throat. He dropped now to one knee, not able to look up. His mind was in a foggy haze, and he couldn't keep his eyes open._

It had taken Renji four hours to convince Ichigo to go anywhere near Rukia and Takeshi, and when he finally agreed to come within eyesight of them, it was Rukia that had to go to Ichigo. When she reached out a hand and touched his face, he flinched back, like he had never had any kind of physical contact with another person what so ever. His whole body was tense, like he was ready to jump away.

Ichigo had left shortly after that, once everyone had gone to bed and fallen asleep. He had left a short note, simply explaining why he had to leave and that under any other circumstances, wouldn't even have thought of leaving. He had not left any clues as to where he was going, because even he didn't know where it was he was going. Maybe Europe? Australia? The U.S.? As long as he couldn't hurt anyone like that again, it didn't really matter to him.

He wanted to convince himself that this was the right thing to do, leaving everything behind. If he had something inside of him that could wipe out everything he cared about, how could he protect them? He lifted his head, turning it back towards where he had come from. His senses began picking up familiar spirit energy. She couldn't have followed him, could she? The reason he left without any goodbyes was because a clean break would've been easier to deal with. Ichigo just kept walking, not bothering to stop and wait. He knew Rukia was following him, he could sense her spirit energy, but he made no attempt to elude her.

"Ichigo?" He stopped, but didn't turn around. "Ichigo, please, just talk to me-"

"About what?" Ichigo's voice was empty, holding no feeling in it what so ever. He still had his back turned to Rukia, but his head was halfway turned towards her.

"Why did you just leave? You didn't say anything to me or Renji, and I wake up in the middle of the night to find a note saying that you had to leave because you couldn't protect me or Takeshi. Why would you-"

"Do you really want to know why I left, why I said that I couldn't protect you?" Ichigo cut Rukia off, fully turning around to face her. His expression was pained, grim, and deathly serious. "Because I almost killed everyone that had ever meant anything to me earlier today, just because I couldn't control some God-forsaken hollow inside of me. I told myself that I would protect you and Takeshi at all costs. How can I do that if I'm a threat to the both of you?"

Rukia couldn't answer that. Was Ichigo truly serious, this leaving because he was a threat? "How can you be a threat, Ichigo? How the man I love think that he could kill me?"

Ichigo's expression softened slightly. He took Rukia's hands in his and sighed before continuing, his voice becoming gentle. "I would never, _never_, choose to hurt you like this unless I had a choice. But what good am I if I can't even control this, this _thing_ inside of me? You can't even begin to believe how hard it was for me to leave."

"But then why did you leave? You could've at least said goodbye." Rukia moved into Ichigo's arms and leaned slightly against him, her head pressed against his chest.

"Would you have honestly let me go if I had said goodbye?" He cupped her face with his large hands and tilted her head up so that she was looking into his eyes. "I left like that because it would have been easier for you to let go of me. You still would've had Renji, and let's face it, when it comes to you, he's completely harmless."

"Ichigo, Takeshi needs a father."

"He _needs_ someone who can't hurt him, and can protect him. After what happened today, I'm convinced that it can't be me. Renji's perfectly capable-"

"But you _can't_ leave, Ichigo!" Rukia buried her face into his shoulder, her grip on the fabric of his shirt tightening. Ichigo felt a surge of guilt begin to chew at his resolve, and he wrapped his arms protectively around her. Maybe this was where he was supposed to say that he wouldn't leave. He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a small sniffle from his chest where Rukia's head lay. "Please don't leave me alone."

That desperate plea made Ichigo stop. Leaving her alone. Why did that make him have second thoughts on leaving? He sat in silence, contemplating on the situation. He sighed, opened his mouth to speak, closed it, then spoke in a hesitant tone. "Rukia, I-" Ichigo looked down at her, a smile slowly replacing the scowl that once covered his face. "You really won't let me leave, will you?"

His smile grew wider when he felt Rukia shake her head into his chest in reply. Ichigo tightened his protective embrace around her. Rukia looked up at him with tear filled eyes and gently placed a hand on the side of his face. "You really thought you had to leave to protect us, didn't you?"

Ichigo sighed, trying to find the right words to use. "Rukia, every night when I go to sleep with you next to me, I'm always afraid that something will happen the next day that will take you away from me. I'd never, _never_, forgive myself if I hurt you in any way."

"So does that mean you're not leaving?" Rukia looked hopefully up into Ichigo's brown eyes.

"Yeah, that's exactly what it means." Ichigo's expression softened, as did his eyes. "I'm sorry. That was really kind of a dumb thing to do, huh?" He sheepishly chuckled at how obvious his comment was.

"Yeah, it kind of was." Rukia slightly smiled before gently pulling Ichigo's face towards her own and softly placing her lips on top of his. Whatever little space between them was closed when Ichigo tightened his embrace around her waist, pulling her small body to his larger one. He felt her hands go up the side of his face and become entangled in his orange hair, firmly keeping his lips connected with hers.

Ichigo broke the kiss, completely out of breath. He leaned his forehead against Rukia's, a warm smile adoring his face. "Want to go home?"

"More than anything." With that, Ichigo and Rukia walked hand in hand back to their house.

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**Pretty sappy, huh? Well, I was in a sappy kinda mood, so this was just the perfect thing for me.**

**Please Review!**


	2. Never Leave

**Well, if you're wondering "Why the sudden change of pace in this chapter?", then I'll tell ya with just one word: Titanic. That's right, I have finally seen, uninterrupted, the epic 1997 romance-thriller staring Leonardo DiCaprio and Kate Winslet. This, my friends, is the reason for the so called 'change in pace.' You see, when I'm watching something, my brain will automatically start coming up with ideas for a new fic, and as it just so happens, Titanic started the moment I began working on chapter 2.**

**And before you ask, no, I'm not going to put everyone in early 1900's attire and place them on the ill-fated ship, just to die a tragic death. But if someone says something, I might make an AU Bleach/Titanic fic. :)**

**This will take place one month after chapter 1.**

**BTW, If anyone hasn't recently read my profile, I am now an official IchgioxRukia fan, all the way. 'Cause I mean, seriously, she lives in the guy's closet for crying out loud! (In the anime, not my story) **

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Sighing, Rukia looked at the framed picture that sat on the dresser in the room she and Ichigo shared. The picture had been taken only one month after Takeshi had been born. In it, it showed Ichigo, a proud smile adoring his face, with his arms wrapped around Rukia's waist from behind in a protective hug, his chin resting on top of her head. Leaning against his chest, Rukia was holding their son, the small baby snugly wrapped in a blanket.

Rukia continued to button up her pajama shirt, continuing to look at the photo, despite the fact that it was almost pitch black in the room. It had surprised her how much Takeshi had looked like Ichigo. Aside from the black hair and dark blue eyes, the baby had practically been a mini version of his father. There were some traits, however, that Takeshi had not inherited from Ichigo, like sleeping. Ichigo, who, unless worked all day without rest, would take somewhere from two to three hours to at least doze off. Takeshi, on the other hand, was quick to fall asleep, frequently taking naps during the day before immediately falling into a deep slumber once put in his crib.

When it came to voice volume, Ichigo shot off the scale compared to his son. Takeshi was generally very quiet and content, and wouldn't fuss unless he considered it an emergency. Ichigo, especially when he was pissed off, was loud, obnoxious, brash, and downright annoying. On a very rare occasion, he would keep his "inside voice" while growling at the poor victim stupid enough to incur his fiery wrath. That unfortunate soul was almost always Renji, who didn't even have an "inside voice."

Rukia was pulled from her thoughts when a pair of strong arms wrapped around her waist, pulling her back against a firm, hard chest. "I'm back." Ichigo whispered, his hot breath drifting to the side of Rukia's neck.

"I didn't hear you come in." Rukia moved her arm up and rubbed the back of Ichigo's neck with a small hand.

A slight smile graced the orange haired man's face. "Figured the baby would be asleep when I got back, so I did my best to keep quiet." His sigh turned into a yawn, and he placed a light kiss on the side of Rukia's neck.

"You sound sleepy. We should probably go to bed." Rukia turned in Ichigo's arms.

Hesitantly releasing his grip, Ichigo walked over to the bed and collapsed onto it, his hand lazily scratching underneath the collar of his white button-up shirt. "Guess you're right. Had a rough day at the hospital. Bad accident down at the intersection, another one near downtown during rush hour. Got pretty busy." Fumbling with the buttons of his shirt, he successfully managed to open it most of the way, resting his hand on his stomach and closing his eyes.

Feeling a warm body pressed against his side, Ichigo cracked open an eye and looked at Rukia, who was curled up next to him. He turned onto his side and propped his head up with his hand, his elbow making a crevasse in the pillow. Leaning his head down to Rukia's ear, he whispered breathily. "Wanna do something tonight?"

Suppressing a shiver, Rukia held back a small smile. "What do you mean by that?" She asked as she turned to face him, even though she had a pretty good idea as to what he meant.

"Oh, I don't know." Ichigo replied sarcastically, a smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "Maybe something, oh, _fun_." The smirk was prevalent now, the last word of his sentence spoken as if it held some hidden meaning.

"Like what?"

A wide grin now adorned his face. He moved his hands up to Rukia's stomach and began to tickle her. Rukia franticly grabbed at his hands, unsuccessfully trying to stop Ichigo from furthering the laughing fit that she was currently engaged in. "I-Ichigo, st-stop." She managed to gasp out in between the bouts of laughter.

Ichigo, who was laughing almost as hard as Rukia was, felt himself fall forward when she finally grabbed his hand and pulled it out, causing the upper half of his body to collapse on top of hers.

After a moment of silence, Ichigo softly chuckled once he realized the position they were in. "Kinda awkward, huh?"

Gently caressing the side of his face, Rukia softly replied. "Not at all."

Smiling, Ichigo lowered his head and kissed her, the familiar warmth spreading throughout his body. Breaking off the kiss, he rolled onto his side and wrapped his arms around Rukia and closed his eyes. He opened them again when she turned in his embrace to face him. "Ichigo?"

"Hmm?"

"Promise that you won't leave me."

The demand caught Ichigo off guard. "Why would I leave? I learned my lesson, and I won't make the same mistake again. Alright?" A small smile graced his face as he felt Rukia nod against his chest. He leaned his head down to her ear and whispered softly. "I love more than anything, and I'll _never_ do that again."

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**Well, whatchya think? (Pokes readers) Okay, I'll stop that before someone stabs me. :) Hope you all liked it!**

**Review pwease!**


	3. Right Here

**Yay!! Apparently, my new sequel seems to be enjoyed, or so says the reviews. I was almost half tempted to make Ichigo leave and then show up three years later, but my common sense got the better of me. **

**In case any of you are wondering, my life's goin' pretty good. I've got friends who think that they're vampires (I'm starting to believe 'em, 'cause one of them kinda has a vampire aura to her), I've gotten caught up in the Bleach series!! Yay!! And (drum roll, please,) it's WINTER BREAK!!!!! WOO HOO!!! (Coughs and straightens crooked hat and disheveled hair) Well, yes, anyways.**

**There is, however, one little problem. I can barely move. On the Friday that began our Winter Break, we had a half-day, which meant we left school at 12:35pm instead of 3:40pm. The theme for our half-day: Wellness Day. As it turns out, our school hired trainers from the local World's Gym to come into our gym and "train" us. I was using muscles I didn't even know I had, and I must've pulled every one of 'em. It hurts just to _type_. But, for the sake of my obsession and my story, I'm willing to undergo a little (lot) of pain.**

**An interesting question popped up in a review, so for all who are wondering the same thing, I'll answer it. Unless stated otherwise, this will all take place in the real world, not the Soul Society. Sorry for the confusion, peeps.**

**Chapter Three is going to take place the same night as Chapter Two. Just a little FYI for those who want to know, that's all.**

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Ichigo stared at the bland ceiling of his room, unable to sleep. For the past week since almost leaving his family, he had been getting a minimal amount of sleep, much less than what was healthy for a man twenty-one years of age. His restless mind raced with thoughts on his situation. Even though his hollow counterpart had been dealt with, the threat of it reappearing, stronger than before, was still very real.

Since leaving was no longer an option, he would have to come up with an alternative plan on how to deal with his demon. Maybe, since Urahara always seemed to have some sort of problem solving training course, it would be wise for Ichigo to ask him. The only other option that he had come up so far was, that anytime his hollow showed signs of activity, he would give Renji permission to smack him.

What disturbed him was that, since learning how to go in and out of his inner world at will, his hollow would disappear for hours, even days, without any signs of his spiritual presence. When he did return, he was always unusually quiet, watching Ichigo's actions and seeming to wait for an opportune moment to strike. That, as well as his search for options, was the reason he would refuse to sleep, not wanting to be caught off guard, especially with Rukia right next to him.

Another gruesome fact was that, despite what Rukia and Renji had both told him, Ichigo had almost gone on an insane killing rampage. Renji, even though he had protected Rukia, was no match what so ever for Ichigo's Hollow, and would have easily been killed, had Ichigo not intervened. After that, the hollow's bloodlust being overwhelmingly strong at that point, he would have, to his worst fears, killed Rukia and Takeshi. Even though he hated to think about it, the threat he posed to the ones he cared about the most was prevalent.

Ichigo was pulled from his thoughts when Rukia shifted on top of him. He looked at the sleeping girl laying in his arms, and moved his hand up to stoke her sleep tousled hair. He could feel her light breaths drifting onto his bare chest, and smiled as she curled closer into his chest. His embrace around her tightened as he diverted his eyes back to the ceiling. He directed his gaze back to Rukia when she let out a small whimper.

"Ich…igo." Rukia gripped the bed sheets and snuggled closer to Ichigo's chest, squirming slightly in his embrace. She turned in her sleep, whimpering and crying into Ichigo's bare skin. "P-Please, don't…leave."

Ichigo fully sat upright, pulling Rukia into a sitting position against him, and cradled her against his chest. He pulled her closer, trying to comfort her. "Shh, you're alright, Rukia. It's okay, I'm here. Shh." Ichigo felt like shooting himself on the spot. This was all his fault, all because he had been foolish enough to believe that leaving would have been the best option.

"I'm such an idiot." Ichigo sighed, quickly becoming ashamed. This whole thing seemed to have a chain reaction effect, and it was all going from bad to worse. If only he hadn't been so ignorant, so idiotic, as to convince himself that leaving Rukia and his son alone with no one to care for them would spare them any kind of danger, any kind of agony. His plan had, as it seemed, backfired in his face, with side effects that made him feel all the more guilty.

"I'm right here, Rukia. I'm not leaving." Ichigo slightly sighed in relief as Rukia's squirming and whimpering subsided. She subconsciously snuggled into his chest as he pulled the disheveled covers over her body, her nose slightly nuzzling his neck.

Scooting down slowly so that he was resting on his pillow, Ichigo continued to watch Rukia, curled up on top of his chest. How had he gotten so lucky, finding someone like Rukia? It had been only by a trick of fate that they had met, and their, for lack of a better term, "relationship" had begun by the unique trait that Ichigo had to see ghosts. Looking back on how he had once thought the one thing that had brought them together to be a curse, he knew in his heart that he would not have wanted to trade it for anything. Shifting his gaze back to the ceiling, Ichigo confirmed his promise, more to himself than to Rukia. "I'm not leaving."

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**Hmm, seemed like another sappy one, didn't it? Have no fear, I'll make happier chapters. It must me some stage in adolescence that I'm going through, but I don't really know for sure.**

**One last quickie little thing. It's kind of a pain to write "Hollow Ichigo" over and over again, so with my online research, I have found two "names" that Hollow Ichgio (who owns my soul) is referred as:**

**1) Shirosaki (I like this one, but it might not be right)**

**2) Hichigo (This one's okay, but it's easy to get it mixed up with "Ichigo", who also owns my soul)**

**Whoever knows, please tell me, 'cause I'm desperate. And lazy, which is why I don't feel like writing "Hollow Ichigo."**

**Until next time,**

**BANKAI! **


	4. Diaper Duty

**WOW! Sorry for the late update, peeps. I had a week long writer's block, plus, school was dragging me down like a lead weight. Yup, it was that bad. Well, anyways, I got Chapter 3 up and runnin' now. Hope that makes some people happy!**

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Crossing his arms defiantly over his chest, Ichigo watched as the small baby on the changing table in the nursery stared innocently up at him, small violet eyes blinking ever so often. It was beyond Ichigo as to how something so tiny, so cute, so seemingly harmless, could smell so bad after soiling his diaper. "Alright, stinky pants," Ichigo sighed, pulling the top of his shirt over his face and reaching for his trusty pair of tongs. "Time to change that bag of nastiness."

Ever so carefully, Ichigo gently pulled open the flaps of Takeshi's diaper. Skillfully maneuvering the tongs, he fully opened the diaper, face scrunched up, bracing for the smell. His eyes widened in comical horror as a horrid odder wafted over him. "Aww, c'mon!" Turning his head to the side, Ichigo continued to, unpleasantly, fulfill his task in changing the baby's diaper. What made this all the more frustrating was that it was midnight. Ichigo had firmly told Rukia to stay in bed and that he would take care of the hazardous task. Strange how, after four and a half months, it hadn't gotten any easier.

Quickly closing up the diaper, Ichigo gingerly carried it over to the waste basket and, eagerly, disposed of the "bag of joy" his son had so graciously produced in the middle of the night. Shaking his head and pulling down his shirt, Ichigo put a fresh diaper onto a rather happy and squirming Takeshi. Stepping back to examine his work, he smiled as the baby happily rolled around on the changing table. "Yeah, you like makin' daddy choke, don't ya?"

Ichigo reached a hand over to gently tickle the baby's stomach. Takeshi clasped onto one of his fingers with tiny little hands, tugging slightly on it. Refusing to release his father's finger, the baby stuck it in his mouth and began gnawing on it with its gums, baby slobber quickly dampening it.

"How can you be teething? You don't even have any teeth yet." Ichigo picked the baby up and cradled it awkwardly against his chest. Takeshi latched onto Ichigo's shirt and curled up in his arms, sticking a loose piece of his shirt into his mouth. "Hey, little guy, now I'm gonna have to get you back to sleep." Ichigo smiled as Takeshi looked up at him, continuing to slobber on his once clean shirt.

Sitting down in the nearest chair, Ichigo continued to rock the baby gently. Looking innocently up at Ichigo, Takeshi reached his hands up and grabbed at his father's face, lightly hitting his chin with an open hand. Cocking an eyebrow, Ichigo looked at Takeshi with visible humor. "You think daddy's face looks funny, huh?" Takeshi began to laugh and grabbed at Ichigo's nose. "Yeah. Mommy thinks my face is funny, too. Bet ya Uncle Renji does, also."

Takeshi ceased his fumbling with his father's face and stuck his fingers in his mouth. "You know," Ichigo leaned back in his chair, letting the baby lay comfortably against him. "Mommy and I didn't like each other at first. Neither did me and Uncle Renji, or Uncle Byakuya." Ichigo smiled at the baby's absentminded expression. "You really aren't interested in this, are you?"

After a few moments of sitting in silence, Ichigo looked sympathetically at Takeshi, who had not yet fallen asleep. This slightly worried him, since he was all too familiar with his son's sleeping habits, and knew that the baby was quick to fall asleep. "You scared, little guy?" Ichigo asked softly as the baby curled up closer to him. "You don't need to be scared. Your daddy's right here, and he won't let anything bad happen to you."

Ichigo sighed in relief as Takeshi began to drool on his shirt again, eyes closed, which meant that he had fallen asleep. Gently easing himself from the chair, Ichigo carried the baby over to his crib and laid him down. Ichigo quietly walked over to the door and turned off the lights. Gingerly shutting the door, he yawned and walked back to his and Rukia's room, scratching the back of his head.

Opening the door, he paused for a moment and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. Letting his gaze shift over to the bed, he let his brown eyes study Rukia's motionless form. _'Hm. Must've fallen back asleep.' _Walking quietly over to the bed and pulling off his shirt, he laid down and wrapped his arms around Rukia, closing what little distance there was between them. Sighing contently, he buried his face in her hair.

"Mommy thinks daddy's face is funny, huh?" Rukia smirked, turning in Ichigo's embrace to face him.

"You heard that?" Ichigo smiled.

"Only a little."

"You heard the whole thing, didn't you?" Ichigo scoffed playfully.

"Yeah." Rukia mover her hand up Ichigo's chest and let it rest on the side of his face, slowly tracing the muscles of his neck and his jaw line. Using a slender finger, she absentmindedly played with a stray piece of his orange hair. It felt so soft between her fingers, she ran her hand through his hair.

Ichigo smiled and closed his eyes, sighing contently. "Mmmm. That feels good." The feeling of Rukia's fingers running over his scalp was making him sleepy, but he enjoyed it.

Rukia pulled her hand from Ichigo's hair and moved it down to his chest, beginning to trace a large scar near his shoulder. "Ichigo?"

"Hmm?" Ichigo cracked an eye open.

"Do you think we'll be good parents?" The question surprised Ichigo, and his smile was replaced by a confused look. Fully opening his eyes, he propped his head up on the palm of his hand, his elbow digging into the pillow.

"Why do you ask?"

"Well, what if we do something wrong?" Rukia asked worriedly, taking hold of Ichigo's other hand. "What if we can't keep him safe? What if-"

"Rukia," Ichigo interrupted, putting his finger over her lips. "We'll do just fine. The worst thing we could do is _not_ raise him. Sure, we'll make mistakes, but that's just to be expected." His smile returned, and his amber eyes became soft. "If we just do the best we can, then we'll be fine."

"Wow. You certainly seem to know a whole lot about this." Rukia smirked playfully, poking Ichigo's stomach.

"Yeah, well, let's just say that after we found out you were pregnant, my dad gave me a _lot_ of 'parenting' talks. And I mean a _lot_." Ichigo laughed lightly, pulling Rukia into a protective embrace. "Let's just say that getting taught about what to expect when your wife's pregnant by a crazy perv isn't exactly a pleasurable experience."

"Neither is throwing up in the middle of the night." Rukia humorously retorted, a hint of sarcasm in her voice.

"Neither is being thrown up _on_." Ichigo looked down at Rukia, grinning slightly. He leaned his down and kissed the top of her head, briefly tightening the hug. "But," He sighed, resting his head on his pillow. "When you think about how it all turned out, I guess a few buckets of your upchuck all over the front of me was a small price to pay."

Rukia leaned up, resting her hands on Ichigo's shoulders. "You're acting like you had to deal with the worst of it."

"And what's to say I didn't?" Ichigo inquired, cocking an eyebrow.

"You didn't have to carry around a baby in your stomach for nine months."

"No." Ichigo smiled. "I had to deal with a someone who had a baby in their stomach for nine months."

"Ha ha, very funny." Rukia sarcastically replied.

"Oh, was that a trace of sarcasm I heard?" Ichigo smirked.

"Trust me, it was more than a trace."

"Aww, Rukia, you wound me. What ever did I do to incur your wrath this time?" Ichigo pretended to look shocked, even though his grin was still showing.

"You were being stupid."

"Oh, don't act like you don't love it." Ichigo snickered, his arms clasping around Rukia's waist. "From the info I've gathered from you, I would've thought that my macho attitude was a turn on."

"Oh, is that so?" Rukia asked, cocking an eyebrow.

"Care to prove me wrong?" Ichigo smirked suggestively.

"Don't push your luck." Rukia tucked her head under his chin, snuggling closer into his chest. "You're not that good." Ichigo's chest shook as he laughed, which sounded more like a deep rumbling noise to Rukia with her ear against it. She smirked to herself, and absentmindedly began tracing a scar on his chest. "You we're right about one thing, though."

"What's that?"

Rukia kissed him lightly on the lips before laying her head back on his chest. "Mommy does think daddy's face is funny."

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**Did that seem kinda fluffy to you? It was meant to be fluffy fluff. I love that word. Fluff. Fluffy fluff. (coughs) Um, yeah, right. **

**Until next time,**

**BANKAI! **


	5. Cookies

**Sorry for the late update. I know, I know, I said this would be up last Friday, but I didn't have as much free time as I thought I would. Plus, I got grounded because I forgot to turn in a homework assignment, which brought my grade down, like eight points (I'll never get these grading things). But, the school year is almost over, which means I get to go to my grandpa's house in Ohio, which means BIG TIME updates. In two weeks, I'll be going down to Florida for my B-day, so I won't be able to update (for how long, I don't know). I'll try to update my other stuff ASAP. **

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"Cookies?" Renji stared skeptically at Ichigo, cocking a tattooed eyebrow. He leaned back in his chair, entwined his fingers and placed them behind his head. Letting the quizzical glare last a few moments longer, he leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees, and asked, "Are you sure?"

Ichigo nodded bitterly, closing his eyes in despair. "Yeah, Rukia wants me to make cookies. Chocolate chip cookies, to be exact." He shook his head grimly, folding his arms over his broad chest. "And it's not like I asked for it, either! I wake up, kiss her, take a shower, then all of a sudden, 'Oh, Ichigo, I need you to make two dozen cookies while I'm at Ishida and Orihime's.'"

"What're the cookies for?" Renji asked, taking a rather large bite out of his sandwich.

"I didn't get the whole story, but from what Rukia told me," Ichigo sighed, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Orihime's pregnant. My best guess is that the cookies are for her and Ishida."

Renji nodded slowly. "Yeah, that'll probably be it." He stood, the chair sliding back. "Tatsuki had me make cookies for you an' Rukia before you two had the baby. Didn't really know what I was doing, though."

"Yeah," Ichigo glared dangerously at the older man. "I chipped a tooth on my honeymoon because of your rectangle-brick cookies. But," Ichigo tapped his chin in thought, staring at the ceiling. "I did save about fifty bucks worth of shingles by using your cookies to fix the roof."

"Oh, shadap! They weren't all that bad." Renji shouted angrily.

"Ya know that patch on the roof with the shingles that are slightly darker that all the other ones?" Ichigo asked, a smirk playing at his lips.

"Yeah…" Renji replied slowly.

"Guess what? Your cookies!" Ichigo shouted.

Fuming, Renji growled and stalked into the kitchen, followed by a visibly amused Ichigo. Opening the refrigerator door, the orange haired man grabbed an assortment of items. On the counter he dumped eggs, flour, chocolate chips, sugar, and other things Renji had never even heard of before. "We gotta turn this stuff into cookies?" Renji asked, scratching the back of his head. "Can't we just get some from the store?"

"Nope." Ichigo shook his head, sighing in annoyance. "Tried that once, but it didn't work. She can tell the difference between store bought and home made. Some kinda girl thing, I guess…" He let his voice trail off, turning to the sheet of paper with the cooking instructions written on it.

"Alright, looks simple enough." Ichigo took a bowl and stuck it under the faucet of the sink, turning the water on. "Renji open up the flour." Ichigo ordered, looking intently at the recipe. He nearly jumped out of his skin when an inhuman roar echoed throughout the house.

"ACHOO!" Ichigo turned to see Renji, hunkered over the flour bag, with white power surrounding his nose, mouth, and tracing the bottom of his eyes. He seemed shocked, and stared in disbelief at his now chalky white nose, his face scrunched up in confusion. He snorted, a white cloud drifting around his face before dissipating. He shook his head, shaking a small amount of the flour off.

Ichigo snickered evilly as Takeshi, who was sitting in his highchair eating cheerios, began pointing and giggling at Renji. Renji glowered at the small baby. "Yeah, you laugh now, kid, but when you get your girlfriend pregnant like your daddy did, you'll be doin' this same exact thing. And I'll be the one laughing." He twitched back as a cheerio hit him in the eye, thrown by the laughing baby.

"Cough-owned-cough." Ichigo cleared his throat, grinning. The eight month old baby clapped happily, giggling at a scowling Renji. Ichigo turned back to the sink, snickering evilly. His triumph, however, was short lived as something hit the back of his head and splattered in his hair. Eye twitching, he reached a hand into his hair and felt the slimy substance coating his head. He growled as he felt egg slime underneath his fingers. "Did you just throw an egg at me?"

Renji shook his head and pointed at the baby, who was staring at Ichigo innocently. Ichigo stared in horror as he noticed an open egg carton sitting next to the baby's highchair…with one of the eggs missing. "How…what…wh-" He looked at Renji and pointed a finger at the baby. "How'd he do that?"

"The hell if I know." Renji chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Kid's gotta good arm, hittin' you from all the way over there."

"Yeah, three feet. Whatev." Ichigo snorted.

"Oh, you're just mad because your baby has better aim than you do." Renji scoffed superiorly.

"Oh, really, now?" Before Renji could reply, a torrent of ice cold water hit the back of his neck and head, forcing a surprised and angry yelp from his mouth. Dripping wet with water, and face covered with clumpy flour, the older man turned to Ichigo, an evil smile covering his face.

"Wow. You must think you're pretty damn funny, huh?"

"Yeah, I like to think so." Ichigo smirked, egg slime dripping from his orange hair and onto his face.

Renji nodded, looking at Ichigo. Grabbing a canister of Redi Whip, he grabbed the front of Ichigo's shirt and stuck the nozzle of the canister in the younger man's face. Pressing his finger against the nozzle, Renji released a spray of white cream into the orange haired man's face. Sputtering, Ichigo roughly shoved Renji away, and the older man stumbling backwards into the counter. The tattooed shinigami ripped open the bad of chocolate chips and threw a handful into the younger man's face.

Growling, Ichigo bit off the plastic cap on the Crisco bottle and squeezed it between his hands, a line of yellow liquid hitting his opponent's face. Renji howled as the Crisco hit his eyes, and he grabbed the sugar bag and threw it at Ichigo. The orange haired shinigami grunted as the heavy bag made contact with his chest. Out of pure reflex, Ichigo caught the bag from falling to the ground, giving Renji an open spot for an attack. The older man jumped onto Ichigo, and the two hit the kitchen floor. A series of haphazard punches and kicks were exchanged, and a vivid torrent of obscenities flew through the air.

"What on earth are you two doing?" Ichigo and Renji stopped when they saw Rukia standing in the doorway, sending disapproving and somewhat amused glares in their directions. The two men both stood abruptly, eyes wide in realization that they had been caught in a rather awkward situation.

"Uh, yeah….hey, uh…" Ichigo grinned sheepishly, scratching the back of his head. "Hi?"

Rukia cocked an eyebrow and stared at Renji, who flinched back under the intimidating glare. "Yeah, uh…ya see, we, uh…well, we were workin' on the cookies, but," He pointed an accusing finger at Ichigo, and loudly proclaimed, "He started it!"

"What?!" Ichigo yelped, shocked at the accusation. "Did not, tattooed liar!"

"Say that to may face, carrot boy!" Renji spat back.

"I just did, ass wipe!" Ichigo yelped again as his wife's fist connected with his head, sending him into the ground.

"Renji. Home. Now." Rukia pointed a slender finger to the door. Renji nodded and shot out the door, resembling a scared puppy. A red, tattooed, and rather large puppy, but a puppy none the less.

"Ow. That kinda hurt." Ichigo looked up at Rukia, but shrank back under her glare.

"Ichigo, would you care to explain why the kitchen is a complete mess, and why you're covered in egg, chocolate chips, whipped cream, and flour?" Rukia folded her arms over her chest.

"Uh…I love you?" Ichigo looked nervously around the room, looking for an exit.

"Are you serious? I think you've reached an all new high, Ichigo," Rukia picked a chocolate chip out of his hair. "In thirty minutes you've managed to mix almost all the major food groups in with your hair."

"Just one of the many talents I have," Ichigo grinned, rubbing egg yolk from his amber eyes.

"Uh, yeah, I wouldn't exactly go _that _far," Rukia tried to assist Ichigo in wiping off the many food contents that were on his head. Shaking her head, she guided him to the sink and turned on the water, motioning for him to stick his head under the faucet. He stuck his hair under the cold water and nearly screamed when it made contact with the back of his neck. "So," Rukia began, squirting dish soap into Ichigo's hair, "Would care to explain to me how this all happened?"

"Well, ya see," Ichigo started, trying to find a way for it to sound like Renji's fault. "Renji sneezed in the flour, and Takeshi threw a cheerio at him. When I started laughing, Takeshi threw an egg at me, then Renji started laughing. I sprayed water at him, and he sprayed Redi Whip in my face. I shoved him into the counter, and he threw chocolate chips at me. Then I sprayed Crisco at him, and he threw a bag of sugar at me, and that's pretty much where it ends."

"So you're saying the baby started this?" Rukia glance at Ichigo skeptically.

"Oh, no, not at all. I'm trying to say that it's Renji's fault."

"Yeah, but either way," Rukia smirked, drying off Ichigo's hair with a towel, "You're still cleaning up this mess."

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**Poor Ichigo. That's all I can really say right now. (Snickers) **

**Review if ya want, but I won't make ya. **


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